1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to head and face supports used in surgery, and more specifically to head and face supports in which a patient's face rests on the support when the patient is in a prone position as on a spinal surgery support frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, various devices have been commonly used to support a person's head in the face down position. These support devices were typically made from foams of varying density, some hard, some soft and some a combination of both. Specialized versions of face support devices are commonly used in surgery. One such prior art device is shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings.
The better versions of such devices provided areas of cut-out or relief in and about the region of the eyes to obviate contact with the support and to thereby avoid almost certain damage. A further taking away of material is required to accommodate the prominence of the nose, which would otherwise subject it to extreme pressure. Finally, a still further removal of supporting material is required to accommodate the entire area about the mouth to avoid the lips being injured by direct pressure by the support against the teeth.
The problem, therefore, with all prior art is that in relieving so much relative area of the face from contact with support, there is relatively little residual area of the face left to contact the support device, and to support thereby, the weight of the face and head. Attempts have been made to increase the support area of the device through contouring and to thereby engage the more laterally disposed curved portions of the face. Unfortunately, this has not proven completely effective. Inasmuch as the sides of the head and face are oriented relatively vertical with the patient's face down, attempting to support the face by merely contouring the contact surfaces laterally creates shearing forces between the device and the skin of the sides of the face, a condition which the skin finds particularly injurious.